Mind-Body-Spirit CECs

In this course, discover how emerging research underscores the link between what you eat and how you feel, in addition to the latest in mind-body-spirit news. The Food and Mood section will review foods associated with mood-lifting or mood-stabilizing effects, then will identify the diet patterns associated with mood as promoting or protecting against depressive symptoms. In Mind-Body-Spirit News, you will read how meditation is increasing in the medical setting, and how tai chi and aquatic exercise have become the most popular exercise activities among older adults. Also, learn the benefits of the Pilates “knee-stretch” exercises and the impact of yoga practice on the sympathetic nervous system, which benefits both physical and mental health.

In this course, you'll discover the unique combination of standing Pilates blended into standing yoga sequences to sculpt, strengthen and stretch the lower body with a focus on spinal alignment, cuing and technique.

This continuing education course covers some of the latest mind-body-spirit news as well as the constructive skills for mind-body fitness professionals.

This continuing education course covers some of the latest mind-body news as well as the versatility of the Pilates chair. Some of the news topics covered include: how Pilates can improve shoulder stability, how workplace tai chi can be economical and effective, how meditation can benefit college students, and how qigong practice may benefit patients with type 2 diabetes.

A Pilates mat work program designed from a progressive perspective. You will begin with three repetitions of the basic modification, then move into four repetitions of the intermediate approach and finish with three repetitions of the advanced version, giving you the ability to adapt your program to all fitness levels as well as challenge the muscles in a variety of ways.

Do you have the weight of the world on your shoulders? Explore and experience methods for releasing the tension and tightness that we build up in our shoulder girdle. Learn the anatomy of the shoulder girdle and its connections to the rest of our body, allowing us to feel freedom and lightness in our posture. Discover the openness and stability we can bring to our heart and throat chakras.

Pilates has evolved. Join us for this special workshop that will show you how to introduce innovative choreography and sequencing into classes. Explore several ways for taking traditional movements and using modifications and variations to create combinations that can be done individually or linked together to create a complete choreographed class. This course is a progressive and contemporary approach to the Pilates system of exercise.

Many athletes, as well as weekend warriors, have found that extra edge over the competition through the power of yoga. From football to golf, professional sports teams and Olympic-bound athletes have found that a regular practice of yoga increases flexibility, reduces stress, improves concentration and gives an overall feeling of wellness. Increase your skills and marketability by tapping into this growing market.

How we move during the 165 hours per week that we are not exercising is more important than the 3 hours a week at the gym. We approach the reformer work from the standpoint of how it can be integrated into our daily activities, from standing to sitting at a desk, to moving through our daily tasks. Join us for this innovative, exploratory and informative program.

Over the years, commonly used cues and techniques delivered with the certainty of proven scientific knowledge have been misleading and incorrect. For instance, it is proclaimed that Pilates builds strength, yet often Pilates teachers shy away indignantly from the notion of overloading a muscle or muscle group with resistance, ignoring the physiological principle of overload. This session will introduce the Block System™, a method by which instructors can achieve the maximum from the work and the physiological principles that support it.

Flow is a fundamental movement principle of Pilates and one that can be so well integrated into the mat work. I often refer to the mat work as the "bread and butter" of the practice of Pilates, due in part to this fact: that the principles are an integral part of mat work and that the movements themselves form the foundation of all the work on the apparatus. Mat work flow sequences, when done correctly, bring beauty and joy to the movement.

Not all Pilates exercises are beneficial for the general population. You will look at the reformer differently after this session. You'll see how it can be utilized to correct body mechanics, and discover how to analyze postural issues and corrective exercises. This course is for the instructor who wants a deeper knowledge of deviations.

Core strength has become the focus of many exercise programs today. It can and should be developed at every level of the Pilates repertoire and remain a fundamental element of every Pilates movement. Utilizing the vast repertoire from classic Pilates and the BASI™ repertoire, this workshop will heighten understanding of the core, the anatomy of the pelvis and spine, and the muscles responsible for core strength.

Earn CECs while you learn the latest research on mind-body topics. Learn about cardiovascular disease and the mind-body connection, find summaries of key studies on yoga, Pilates qigong and other mind-body topics, and discover how to create Pilates programs for the overweight client. Articles and the test from the June 2009 CEC Mind-Body Issue of IDEA Fitness Journal.

Get the latest scientific findings about harnessing the extraordinary power of integrative fitness to achieve optimal functioning of the entire body, mind and spirit from expert Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH. Articles and the test from the June 2007 CEC Body-Mind-Spirit Issue of IDEA Fitness Journal.

Expand your knowledge on three different subjects with the mind-body-spirit–specific articles in this course and learn the truth about some of the latest yoga research. Articles and the test from the June 2008 CEC Mind-Body-Spirit Issue of IDEA Fitness Journal.

Get the latest research on improving functional abilities in older adults, pre-exercise stretching, and the science of breathing in this continuing education course. Articles and the test from the February 2007 CEC Research Issue of IDEA Fitness Journal.

In this continuing education course, you’ll learn about exercise psychology for both adults and children, and discover how it relates to motivation and participation, exercise structures and benefits. Articles and the test from the February 2006 CEC Exercise Psychology Issue of IDEA Fitness Journal.

Enhance your skill set and your career—become more knowledgeable and marketable by learning more about Pilates, yoga and mind-body programming for special populations, and get the CECs you need to maintain your current professional certification. Articles and the test from the April 2005 CEC Sports Conditioning Issue of IDEA Fitness Journal.

The Body Knowledge continuing education course introduces you to the Feldenkrais Method of somatic education. This method connects us to our ability to learn kinesthetically and, ultimately, achieve a heightened sense of kinesthetic awareness and enhanced functioning on all levels.